From Fish to Rare Crayfish: England’s Drought Wildlife Rescue Operations 

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A group of people in overalls on the bank of a body of water, with a large net to capture fish which are in need of rescue.

Fisheries teams across England respond as drought and prolonged dry weather puts aquatic life at risk.  England’s driest start to the year since 1976 is severely impacting waterways. While Environment Agency fisheries officers work with partners to help fisheries prepare …

What is drought? 

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Over the past 50 years, England has suffered lots of droughts - some of the more notable ones include 1975-76, 1989-92, 1995-96, 2004-06, 2011-12 and recently 2018, 2022 and 2025. But what does this mean, how does the Environment Agency …

Managing the impacts of drought in the Midlands

Two Environment Agency officers, a man and a woman, both wearing waterproof bib-and-brace dungarees, walk up a shallow, narrow stream in the forest with nets and buckets looking for any fish in need of rescue and removal to safer, deeper waters.

What is the situation in England? Drought was declared in the West and East Midlands on 15 July, joining the North-West and Yorkshire which went into drought in June. Dry weather continues to impact water resources across England requiring water …

Celebrating a Decade’s Work Returning Fish to the River Derwent.

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Photograph showing a fish in a river as people carry out work to count the number of fish.

Since the River Derwent was dammed 300 years ago – at the start of the Industrial Revolution – its fish stocks dwindled. Devoid of fish since the mid-20th century, a project to open it back up to the likes of salmon began in 2013. Now, fish are flourishing along all 20 miles of the Derwent.

Creating the country’s largest fish pass

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We needed to make sure that diverting water through the fish pass must not lower the flow through either the canoe slalom course at the adjoining Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre or the turbines of a local hydropower operation.  We also needed to allow for maintenance access to the Holme Sluices.